It's 25-year-old Gazal Chanana's first time at Rodeo Drive. But, seated at a bar table with high stools near the "bull" that she's already ridden thrice (and fallen off as many times), sipping a cocktail on a Ladies' Night, she's sure that she's returning soon. For her or her companions, Aniket Akhade, also 25, and Priya Kanchanbaras, 36, the American-themed gastropub that opened this April at the Peninsula Redpine Hotel in Marol village on Andheri-Kurla Road, isn't exactly a hop-skip-jump from their workplaces on SV Road in Andheri West, or their homes — from Dadar to Mira Road. It took them a 25-minute auto drive to reach here. "Yet, heading to Lokhandwala in Andheri West, would take us more traffic time, and here the alcohol is cheaper," says Akhade. The three friends work at a private institution. With several drinking spots that have sprouted in just the past one year between Marol Metro Station and Saki Naka metro Station, and venues like Stables and The Finch, (the latter a little ahead on Saki Vihar Road), nightlife in Andheri East looks like it's getting a long-awaited CPR.

In the last one year, bars, breweries and restaurants have started mushrooming on Andheri-Kurla Road, competing for visibility amidst the perennial traffic. Pic/Sameer markande